A Giant, Inflatable “Truth Booth” is Coming to Sydney

An inflatable speech bubble is popping up in Hyde Park this month, as part of a travelling art installation called In Search of the Truth – and it wants to hear your thoughts.

To participate, you simply step into the booth, emblazoned with the word “truth”, and respond to the statement “the truth is…” Participants’ answers will be recorded, and the short videos will then be compiled and shared on the project’s website.

City of Sydney councillor and art curator Jess Scully says the artwork “will hopefully provoke emotional responses and allow people to let their guard down. We don’t normally see this in public spaces.”

The installation is an initiative of the Cause Collective, a San Francisco-based team of artists and designers. They created In Search of the Truth for the Galway Arts Festival in 2011, and it has been touring the world ever since, collecting snippets of thoughts from a range of people.

It has popped up in locations as diverse as Afghanistan and South Africa. In 2016, it embarked on a 50-state tour of the USA before the presidential election.

“I love that it’s travelled to so many parts of the world, bringing together voices. It’s about the expression of the audience,” says Scully, who hopes to see the honesty, humour and imagination of locals on display.

The artwork’s purpose is to collect as many different truths as possible, on topics spanning politics and race, to personal stories or confessions.

The installation is part of City of Sydney’s Art & About program and will be open from June 13 to 18, 10am–6pm each day, near St James Station.